Krøniken

Well, this is a series that many people have been talking about for the past two years, many mentioned as a sort of sequel to the famous "Matador", and in many ways it is.

Well, the first episode was watched by 2,2 million danes, which is roughly 40% of the country, a very nice premiere for sure. DR Drama, which is the production company and a subcompany of Danish Television is having a very succesful time these days, winning emmy's for both "Rejseholdet" and "Nikolaj & Julie", two years in a row. One can wonder why they plan on shutting down when their next series "Ørnen" is finished one day...well, that's another story..

This show started out so well, and I just watched episode 6 on TV now. I think the two first episodes were incredible, but since then it's gone downhill. No development, most characters are totally cliched and predictable and it is starting to remind me a little of those stupid soap operas of which they make an episode a day - you know which daytime soaps I'm talking about. And it's a shame - cause the production values are so high in this, expensive, but the story is starting my pants off.....to say it like it is....

Krønikken starts were Matador, the immortal Danish TV classic, ended. While it does not reach Matador's level, it certainly is an important contribution that vividly describes the culture of the Danish society from the postwar period, to the beginning of the modem times.

Unlike Matador, Krønikken, (the Chronicle) takes place in Copenhagen, and not in a province town; therefore its focus is a little narrower, and it has more supporting characters that are only seen in a few episodes. Its primary focus is the capitalistic family, whose patriarch owns the radio, and later, TV factory Bella, but it also has a strong focus on the development of the Danish social democratic party. This is because, that the Social Democrat was the primary architect for the modem Danish welfare state, which was created in this period.

It is a story, but it describes the history of that period better, then mere facts ever could.

If you are interested in the Danish culture, then Krønikken, is a must see.

This is an absolute must see for lovers of top class drama. I have watched the whole series twice now and love every second of it. The acting is first class. In 22 episodes there are about two suspect deliveries in my book. I think the script is brilliant. I speak Danish, so I'm spoiled there, but even translated, the script should be great. It's just such a riveting story. The attention to detail with the sets, clothes and everything else is really well done, but above all, the characters are so real, so human, so tragic and so utterly convincing. This is television at its best. It has been compared to the great series Matador. I say it is even better!

The story revolves around Ida who comes from the country to the city and gets drawn in to the world of the Nielsen family, an upper class family who own a radio and later television factory. But at its heart, it's a story about the Nielsen son, Eric, and his struggles in life getting acceptance and love from his father. There are many sub plots about Danish politics and everyone's lives and loves and the growth of the television industry etc, but it is a great human drama about how we need to love and build our children up not tear them down.

I can't understand anyone thinking the script is bad, unless they are maybe reading bad subtitles. Obviously to get the most out of it, you'll need to be fluent in Danish :), but hopefully there are good subtitles around for this show. I don't think I've ever seen a series that is clearly better than this. If you're into humanist dramas you should track this down! TV doesn't get any better.

Mom and I just finished all 22 episodes of this long story. Throughly enjoyed it. Nice story. Really good acting, super attention to detail sets, all the historical look and feel.,nice to watch the years roll by. I even liked the high in the corner camera shots..in the various rooms. We highly recommended this for those who have discovered works from Denmark, Sweden...with the more known NORDIC NOIR list like Borgen, Beck, Dragon, and Wallanders. Enjoy. Our box set got from Amazon.uk with the full 22 episodes plus Danish only bonus material...still hoping for some translations hints on that stuff. User ratings show only a few have discovered this....may have something to do with being Region 2 disks..we just bought a code free machine for like 50 bucks. Whoo Hoo!

I totally disagree with the other comment written to this show. I find the series fascinating each time I watch an episode (and I've seen all 11 so far). It nicely displays historic events, it characterizes the typical Danish families and lives through the 50s and 60s and it's well produced and not filled with unnecessary dialogs, action and effects.

At first I thought the actors and actresses said their lines in an unnatural way, but I got used to it very far, and actually I now believe that the way they talk in the series is the way people spoke at that time - i.e. rather formal.

I sure will continue following Ida, Palle, Erik, Søs, Børge, Emma, Kaj-Holger and all the other characters as long as the show is running - and I'm waiting with excitement to see how they will manage using the same actors throughout what's supposed to be 25 years (well okay - except the children of course).